First, the college wanted to locate near a large population. It also needed a larger facility. And it’s conveniently located right across the street from a busy RTA hub. The new facility is at 2741C Lyons Road, where they’re continuing a tradition that began in 1959. LeMaster says its the only accredited facility in the Miami Valley and Southwest Ohio, and one of the few in Ohio.
How can the public save money? LeMaster said students at the school can provide a wide-range of reasonably-priced services, all under supervision by licensed instructors.
A haircut, for instance, is just $7 ($5 for seniors 60 and older). There’s no waiting and no appointment needed. “It’s a no-wait situation,” LeMaster said. “We’ve got 36 chairs.”
“We’ve got barbers at all times cutting hair,” he said. The college is open from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Tuesdays-Fridays and 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturdays.
Students there take a wide range of classes that lead to licensing by the Ohio State Barber Board. A person with no background in hair styling follows an 1,800-hour course that leads to licensing as a barber/stylist.
Licensed cosmetologists require 1,000 hours of instruction.
When the college relocated a couple of months ago, they got a list of barber shops “between Miamisburg and Cincinnati” and LeMaster said they called hundreds of them.
“They all said ‘we need a barber now,’ ” he said.
While you may think of a traditional barber as being a man, that’s changing. About 10 percent of LeMaster’s students are women. “I’d like that to be about 30 or 40 percent,” he said.
“There’s a great opportunity in this country right now for barbers,” LeMaster said.
Currently, LeMaster has seven employees and 45 students enrolled in the one-year program. Students receive training in subjects ranging from haircutting, styling, coloring, facial shaving and facials.
Students also learn business skills: salesmanship, ethics and shop management.
“We have a curriculum that is current and relevant to the needs of the professional hiring community,” LeMaster said.
The Dayton Barber College can be reached at (937) 222-9101.
Contact this writer at (937) 696-2080 or williamgschmidt@ frontier.com.
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